Maintenance of the Boll & Kirch Ballast Water Filters on the Boskalis Giant 6

The Giant 6 is a semi-submersible ocean-going barge with a 21,000 tonne capacity, owned by Boskalis. This barge has been in service since 2015. The Giant 6 is equipped with 2 Optimarin UV Ballast Water Systems. To protect the UV units, each system is equipped with a Bollfilter Automatic Back-flushing Filter. These filters fully automatically clean the incoming water to 40 microns.

Vessels use ballast water for stability. Ballast water is taken up in the port where the vessel is moored at that point in time and is once again discharged in the port of destination. When ballast water is taken up it also draws in flora and fauna. A great deal of this flora and fauna will not survive the journey, but any non-native species that do survive can disrupt the local ecosystem when they are discharged. Ballast Water Treatment (BWT) systems are used to prevent this. Lubrafil and Bollfilter supply fully automatic back-flushing filters for these systems to protect the UV units. Effective from 2024, all vessels must be equipped with a certified Ballast Water Treatment System. The Giant 6 is already equipped with such a BWT system manufactured by Optimarin.

Lubrafil's service technicians recently performed preventive maintenance on these filters during a stopover in the Port of Rotterdam. A challenging job given that this system is tightly built-in. During the work, temperatures rose to high levels due to the very hot summer and the workspace just below deck. Plenty of water was a must. During two days, the filters were opened up, inspected and reassembled. Lubrafil also ultrasonically cleaned all filter candle elements as part of this work.